n. Name and title character of a
comic strip nationally syndicated in the U.S. and enormously popular among
hackers. Dilbert is an archetypical engineer-nerd who works at an
anonymous high-technology company; the strips present a lacerating satire
of insane working conditions and idiotic management
practices all too readily recognized by hackers. Adams, who spent nine
years in cube 4S700R at Pacific Bell (not
DEC as often reported), often remarks that he has
never been able to come up with a fictional management blunder that his
correspondents didn't quickly either report to have actually happened or
top with a similar but even more bizarre incident. In 1996 Adams distilled
his insights into the collective psychology of businesses into an even
funnier book, The Dilbert Principle (HarperCollins,
ISBN 0-887-30787-6). See also pointy-haired,
rat dance.